A new wave of treatment for Alzheimer’s disease
Professor Li-Huei Tsai studies how brain waves can be used to treat neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
Anesthesia technology precisely controls unconsciousness in animal tests
An advanced closed-loop anesthesia delivery system that monitors brain state to tailor propofol dose and achieve exactly the desired level of unconsciousness could reduce post-op side effects.
Retraining the brain for better vision
Professor Mark Bear's research on brain plasticity spins off a promising candidate to treat amblyopia, or lazy eye.
Study advances understanding of visual recognition memory
Scientists have invested decades in piecing together how our vision is so good at recognizing what’s familiar. A new study overcomes an apparent discrepancy in data to reveal a new insight into how it works.
Twelve with MIT ties elected to the National Academy of Medicine for 2023
Five MIT faculty, along with seven additional affiliates, are honored for outstanding contributions to medical research.
How a single neuron’s parallel outputs can coordinate many aspects of behavior
Study finds that in worms, the HSN neuron uses multiple chemicals and connections to orchestrate egg-laying and locomotion over the course of several minutes.
Decoding the complexity of Alzheimer’s disease
By analyzing epigenomic and gene expression changes that occur in Alzheimer’s disease, researchers identify cellular pathways that could become new drug targets.
Individual neurons mix multiple RNA edits of key synapse protein, study finds
Neurons stochastically generated up to eight different versions of a protein-regulating neurotransmitter release, which could vary how they communicate with other cells.
School of Science welcomes new faculty in 2023
Sixteen professors join the departments of Biology; Chemistry; Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences; Mathematics; and Physics.
Study decodes surprising approach mice take in learning
In a simple game that humans typically ace, mice learn the winning strategy, too, but refuse to commit to it, new research shows.
Molecule reduces inflammation in Alzheimer’s models
A potential new Alzheimer’s drug represses the harmful inflammatory response of the brain’s immune cells, reducing disease pathology, preserving neurons, and improving cognition in preclinical tests.
Study connects neural gene expression differences to functional distinctions
Researchers compared a pair of superficially similar motor neurons in fruit flies to examine how their differing use of the same genome produced distinctions in form and function.
Cracking the code that relates brain and behavior in a simple animal
MIT researchers model and create an atlas for how neurons of the worm C. elegans encode its behaviors, make findings available on their “WormWideWeb.”
Summer research offers a springboard to advanced studies
Three graduate students forged a path to the same Picower Institute lab through participating in the MIT Summer Research Program in Biology and Neuroscience.
Freeman Hrabowski encourages students to “hold fast to dreams” and take time for laughter
In a visit to MIT, the educator and author led a lively and inspiring Q&A with students.